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(For the album -- Joseph de Dominicis: Songs Volume I - Carol Music, 1999)
"Gloria Cooper has a haunting voice and a romantic imaginative piano style."
Jerome Wilson
Cadence Magazine
(For the album - Day By Day - GAC Music, 2001)
"Gloria Cooper has earned the distinction to be called "Dr." with the higher degree from New York's Columbia University. She is Assistant Professor of Music at Long Island University. As she demonstrates in this her debut album, Cooper needn't rely solely on textbook theory in the classroom. Her students can have on-the-job training by watching Cooper at the piano showing them how to make jazz."
Dave Nathan
All Music Guide
"At the keyboard she displays excellent technique, a masterful touch, flawless time and a comprehensive post-bop vocabulary that embodies sources from Gene Harris and McCoy Tyner to Bill Evans, Chick Corea, and Cyrus Chestnut."
Jack Bowers
All About Jazz
"Day By Day" has character in the expressions of a cool jazz singer who accompanies herself. Cooper can play with a band and be a leader. In an area of music performance (the singer/pianist) where the truly talented are few and far between, Gloria Cooper is a standout."
Lucy Galliher
Jazz Now
"Gloria does double duty on her debut as a leader with warm vocals plus swinging piano. She adds Yoron Israel (d) and Ron McClure (b) along with nice accents from Eddie Henderson's cool muted trumpet. The songs are popular standards and jazz classics coming together to form an easygoing program that is very inviting."
O's Place Newsletter
"There are 3 of Sammy Cahn's most impressive lyrics here. "I Fall In Love Too Easily" (Styne) rings with exciting vocal inspiration. It's sung as a lament with an ear shattering purity. "I'll Never Stop Loving You" (Brodszky) remains one of some lover's tender anthems gone unrecorded for so long. Gloria delves deeply here making her version classic vocal artistry."
Dan Singer
In Tune International Magazine
Quote:
(For the album - Dedicated To You - Origin Records, 2005)
"Gloria Cooper provides a delicate phrasing and pacing not heard since another musician, Chet Baker, especially on the title tune. For Gloria Cooper is an original, a jazz musician's jazz singer. Don Sickler produced this wonderful CD and recorded with the capable hands of Rudy Van Gelder. When you hear "Seabreeze" and "Something Unusual" with Gloria's lifting gentle lyrics and Don Sickler's sinuous flugelhorn, you'll be back in a 'Baby Breeze' state of mind."
Dick Crockett
Still Another Jazz Show
"The Voice" 88.7fm
Sacramento, Ca
Quotes
"Not only is Cooper's singing of these assorted tunes expressive, but her pianism sets off her intimate knowledge of the material."
Dave Nathan
All About Jazz
"A haunting vocalist/pianist! You can call it smooth or cool but it fits the spectrum of class."
WLNZ - Lansing, MI - Jim Stone's Big Band Swing
"Excellent. Gloria sings beautifully, plays nicely, swings, and has great sidemen. A very enjoyable recording."
KCME - Radio - Colorado Springs, Colorado
"Veteran trumpeter Eddie Henderson, Ron McClure's bass and Yoron Israel on drums in combination with Cooper's piano would have made this album a candidate for one of 2001's best instrumental sessions. The consummate vocalizing moves it to the top 10 list."
Dave Nathan
All About Jazz
"Gloria's voice is warm, wonderful, and articulate. She moves gently from ballads to swing, and her piano accompaniment is flawless. Her musicianship speaks of much experience. Bravo!"
Anne-Marie Moss
Jazz Vocalist
"Gloria's excellent musicianship is always evident. It's a pleasure to listen to this sensitive vocalist accompanied by a strong and sensitive pianist (as she is here, by herself). It was a joy to work with her on this project, and I'm hopeful I'll work with her many times in the future."
Don Sickler
Producer
"Day By Day" the inaugural CD by Gloria Cooper, is a "must have" for any jazz library. Not only is she a superb song stylist, but her piano work "swings" as hard as anyone. The sensitive dialogue between Gloria and trumpeter Eddie Henderson on Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne's "I Fall In Love Too Easily" is reminiscent of a Bill Evans/Miles Davis conversation and alone is worth the price of the CD. Yoron Israel provides solid drum work and the solo work of bassist Ron McClure is magnificent. A great collection! More please!"
Jim Widner
The Jim Widner Big Band
(For the album - Dedicated To You - Origin Records, 2005)
"Jazz vocalist/pianist, Gloria Cooper, adds a veteran's voice to the mainstream jazz idiom with her second release, Dedicated to You. In this collection of instrumental music written by jazz composers and musicians, Cooper includes a vocal rendering to the work of such greats as Hank Mobely, Renee Rosnes, and Tommy Turrentine, as well as standards from the pens of Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.
The pianist has a post-bop style that reflects the voices of McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Gene Harris, and other greats, revealing the depth and extent of her grasp of the idiom. She lays down her performances in a simple but not simplistic manner, as with any top-drawer player she makes these challenging performances sound easy. Don't let it fool you, there's maturity in her performance that is technically sound and highly imaginative. There is something special about pianists who also sing, they have the ideal accompaniment in their own playing. Yet Cooper doesn't rely on that alone, rather, she's invited a cadre of skillful players to render these rich arrangements created by pianist Cooper and trumpeter Don Sickler (who also acts as Producer).
Cooper's voice is clear, her articulation precise, and she has a penchant for long, lean lines that gracefully bind the arrangements together. Like the entire sound of the CD, Cooper creates space with her vocal delivery, creating a fluid and gentle mood.
The two horn arrangements galvanize the full ensemble sound, which features the vocal lines written into the arrangements rather than a distinct vocal on top. Saxophonist, Wayne Escoffery, and trumpeter, Don Sickler, have a symbiosis that's hard to beat and add the sheen on this gleaming piece of work. Guitarist Freddie Bryant, who is clearly versed in the masters, offers a loose, gentle touch to the many contemporary Latin feels, and at times captures the soul of Neves and the heart of Pizzarelli and Ellis. Bassist Tim Givens is an empathetic player who supplies a solid bottom end with drummer, Vince Cherico. The whole is recorded, mixed and mastered by the best in the biz, Rudy Van Gelder, who once again creates a masterpiece of engineering with a warmth and presence.
The bulk of the recording has a Latin underpinning, with up-tempo swing and swing ballads rounding out the balance. In a similar fashion to Jon Hendrick's versions of Monk's work, many of the song titles have been changed to reflect the vocal addition. "Just a Little Boy" by Argentinian master Sergio Mihanovich, begins with piano/voice, illustrating the strength of a player supporting their own vocal. The ballad is further enhanced by the brilliant piano solo the artist delivers, and the golden horn of trumpeter, Sickler. "Garden in the Sand," written by Hank Mobely with lyrics by Bebe Herring, was originally entitled "Bossa De Luxe," and has a relaxed Latin ballad feel. The sole blues offering "Something Unusual" is one of the few swing ballad feels on the CD. The artist contributes one of her own compositions, co-written with Ira Gitler, "Reveling in the Beat," an up-tempo Latin with a playful melody and a great guitar solo. Trumpeter Tommy Turrentine's "Glo's Theme" becomes "Big Brown Eyes" with the addition of L. Aziza Miller's vocal, and offers a hard swinging feel with superb brushwork by drummer Cherico, who trades fours with bassist Givens. My personal favourite, "Without You," was written by Canadian pianist Renee Rosnes. Originally entitled "Malaga Moon," the composition receives the new title with the addition of lyrics by Shelly Brown, and is a sparse, sensitive read of this gorgeous composition. Saxophonist Escoffery contributes a standout tenor solo on this track.
Dedicated to You is a first-rate recording in the mainstream jazz idiom, and will inspire you to put your feet up, close your eyes, and drift into a sea of soft Latin grooves created by the gifted Gloria Cooper. Recommended."
By Cindy McLeod
Jazzreview.com
"This is a very pleasing offering that came as a result of Gloria Cooper's editing of the Second Floor Music publication Sing Jazz! Many of the songs covered in the publication she was not familiar with, prompting her to record a new CD featuring some of this material. A large number of these songs started out their lives as instrumentals with lyrics added much later. Because of this, it seems quite appropriate that Cooper's voice is treated as an instrument, rather than with an out-in-front-of-the-band vocal approach. Since her voice has a soft quality, this is a successful formula, Rudy Van Gelder's engineering talents capturing it to perfections. Instrumentally, the personnel consists of Cooper (piano), Don Sickler (trumpet/flugelhorn), Wayne Escoffery (tenor and soprano saxophones), Feddie Bryant (guitar), Tim Givens (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums). Sickler handled all the arrangements with the exception of "Dedicated To You" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine" which were done by Cooper. Cooper's one original is "Reveling In The Beat" with lyrics by jazz journalist Ira Gitler. This is a track on which Bryant's guitar work shines. The tunes all have a fine ensemble feel with good solos. Cooper's piano work is of the "less is more" school and is very tasty throughout but it is her voice that makes the chosen material."
Marcia Hillman
All About Jazz/New York
"A fairly straight singer with a warm but cool voice, Gloria Cooper at times hints at Maxine Sullivan and Shirley Horn. The program on Dedicated to You is filled with superior obscurities taken from Don Sickler's Second Floor Music publications -Sing Jazz and -Sing More Jazz. Many of the songs, written by jazz musicians, received their recording debut (particularly as vocals) on this set, including numbers by John Oddo, Hank Mobley, Jon Burr, Renee Rosnes, and the late James Williams. Cooper does a fine job of adding warmth to the lyrics, also playing piano in the backup group, which on some numbers is a full sextet featuring excellent trumpet solos from Sickler. Dedicated to You, which only includes two standards among the dozen songs, shows that some fine new originals were written by jazz musicians in recent times, even if most remain unknown to the general public. Singers in need of fresh material are particularly recommended to explore this outing."
Scott Yanow
All Music Guide
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